How to help friends and family through tough times

How to help friends and family through tough times

*collaborative post*

I haven’t written about this here, but something awful happened at the beginning of September. On the 6th of September my Dad passed away after catching Covid in August. These last few weeks have been the absolute worst of my life, I am completely heartbroken. I have never known a pain like losing a parent, it’s devastating. My friends and family have been amazing, so kind and supportive. I don’t know how I would be able to get through this grief without them. If you know someone who is also going through a difficult time, this guest post is full of advice on how you can help.  View Post

6 tips for having a stress free flight with a baby

6 tips for having a stress free flight with a baby

*collaborative post* 

The summer holidays are here and we are actually allowed abroad this year. I think we are, aren’t we? To be honest, I don’t watch the news and I can’t keep up with watch is amber or green (not even sure what that means!). Anyway, if you are jet setting this summer and taking your baby along too, this guest post is for you. You can’t just jump on a plane with a baby without doing some prep first – trust me! This guest post has lots of tips to help you have a stress free flight with your baby. Happy holidays! View Post

Short stories for mums – After lockdown

Short stories for mums – After lockdown

Hello, welcome back to my short stories for mums feature. It’s been a little while like I wrote my last short story – We aim to please – and with the boys back at school I have managed to find some time to write again. The point of these stories is to help me improve my fiction writing and to give busy mums who enjoy reading but struggle to find the time, a story that can be read with a coffee while the children play for ten minutes. Today’s story is called After Lockdown and is about a man and women meeting for the first time during the pandemic. I hope you enjoy and as always I would really appreciate any feedback.

Grab a coffee and happy reading! View Post

Keeping costs down when buying a family pet

Keeping costs down when buying a family pet

*collaborative post*

I love my family. There’s me, Oli, our three kids and our cat Jessy. There’s something missing though and that something is a dog. We love Jessy of course but I feel like a dog would really complete our family. We are quite outdoorsy too so it would be lovely to have a dog join us all on our adventures. Deciding what pet to buy can be tricky, there’s lots of different animals to choose from and not to mention all the different breeds! Money plays a part in the decision making too and today I have a guest post all about keeping the cost down when buying a family pet. I hope you find it useful.


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Our new life – thoughts, feelings and fears about Coronavirus

Our new life – thoughts, feelings and fears about Coronavirus

Do you remember where you were when you first heard Princess Dianna had died? Or when you first heard the news of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York? Or when Michael Jackson died, or the Manchester Arena bombings happened, or when our future king Prince George was born? These were all big news, and if we all think hard enough we can probably remember what we were doing and who we were with when the news broke. I don’t remember the first time I heard the word Coronavirus, or who I was with or what I was doing. Yet, now every time I turn on the television, pick up my phone or speak to a loved one, it is the only thing being discussed. Not only is Covid19 big news, it is global news. It is life changing news. View Post

How to make moving easier when you have kids

How to make moving easier when you have kids

*collaborative post*

In the past four years we have moved three times. The first of those moves was a big relocation to Hampshire in 2015. It was difficult packing up our whole life in Wales and moving four hours away but we did it, somehow! Leo was only two then, it was difficult trying to pack and organise everything around his daily routine but we managed it. In 2017 we moved 15 minutes down the road to a different house in Hampshire and then in the spring of 2018 we relocated back to Wales. The last two moves were the most difficult as we had two children by that point and Leo was in school and this made the process a little bit more complicated. There is so much to think about when it comes to moving house but it is important that you try to keep everything as stress free as possible for your kids as well as yourselves. Today’s guest post is full of lots of useful tips on how to make moving house easier when you have kids. View Post

All the things you don’t need to feel guilty about – shutting up the mum guilt

All the things you don’t need to feel guilty about – shutting up the mum guilt

If you are a parent you will more than likely be familiar with the term ‘mum guilt’. As well as all the sleep deprivation, baby brain and the complete change of lifestyle we all experience when we have a child, us mums also get this positivity and self confidence sucking side effect of bringing a child into the world called mum guilt. This negative mindset sneaks in, loud and unwelcome, during your pregnancy, a time in a woman’s life that is often also full of some degree of anxiety, stress and worry. As your baby is happily cooking away in utero, a hard job for us mamas as it is, thoughts covered in guilt can begin to creep around our already hormone riddled brains. There’s a whole list of things that have the ability to make a pregnant woman feel like a rubbish mum before her baby has even been born: the food she is or isn’t eating, the amount of alcohol she does or doesn’t drink, the pregnancy yoga classes she’s not going to and the choices she makes on things like feeding, sleeping and what kind of nappies she’s going to use when her baby arrives.

Once baby finally does show up, feelings of mum guilt tend to ramp up a notch and we can be left feeling guilty about almost every parenting decision we make. The thing we all need to remember is, mum guilt isn’t speaking the truth – we are not bad mums, we are amazing mums trying our absolute best every day. Mum guilt is the manifestation of our completely unachievable  desire to be the ‘perfect mum’, mixed with any self confidence issues we are already experiencing in regard to our parenting abilities. I have been a mum now for almost four and a half years and I have wasted too much of that time feeling guilty and questioning the things i do and don’t do for my sons. Recently I have decided to have much more of a positive mental attitude, I want to think this way about all aspects of my life but, mostly, I want to be a more positive parent and that isn’t going to happen if I keep listening to the judgmental, hurtful voice of mum guilt. To help quash these pointless yet damaging thoughts I am spending more time focusing on all the things I actually do for my kids instead of dwelling on the things I don’t and it is really working to feed my positive mindset.

Shutting up the mum guilt

If you are a parent who too has lived under the reign of evil mum guilt for far too long, I am telling you right now it doesn’t need to be this way. Here is what you need to do, are you listening? Sit down and write a list titled ‘All the things I feel guilty about’, if you are anything like me it is going to be a lengthy list so make sure you have enough paper handy. Now, once you have done that, go back to your title ‘All the thing’s I feel guilty about’, scribble it out and write ‘All the thing’s I don’t need to feel guilty about’ in big, bold letters and underline the ‘don’t’ atleast three times. My health visitor once told me, when I was battling with post natal depression, that the fact that I was spending so much time worrying over these things only served as proof that I was in fact a great mum, not the rubbish one I thought. We only feel guilty because we want to be the best possible parent we can be for our kids and we just care about them SO damn much. All the things you feel guilty about, I can almost guarantee you don’t need to be worrying about them as much if even at all. Us mums worry about little things so much because we are trying to be that ‘perfect mum’ I mentioned earlier, the one who does not exist. Chances are, you are feeling guilty because you are doing some of the things you said you would NEVER do when you had kids, back when you were living a life sans baby and had not a single clue what raising a child is really like. No parent is perfect and sometimes we all do what we do to just make it through the day, and that is more than ok!

family-photo-mum-guilt-post

So, are you ready to take back control and help shut up that stupid mum guilt once and fall? Grab your notebook and your paper and write out your list, you may think it is counterproductive writing down all those things you are feeling guilty about but now that you, hopefully, understand that you don’t need to beat yourself up about them at all because you are simply a mum doing her BEST for the children that she LOVES, you can look at this list and see with fresh eyes that they aren’t actually worth your mental energy worrying over. I always like to practice what I preach, so here is my list of all the things I don’t need to feel guilty about..

All the things I don’t need to feel guilty about..

– Giving Alex a dummy
– Letting Leo watch TV in the morning
– Giving Alex something else to eat for lunch when he chucks my first attempt of a healthy balanced meal on the floor
– Letting Leo drink squash instead of water
– Checking emails on my phone instead of building yet another tower of bricks for Alex to knock down
– Telling Leo off when he’s been naughty
– Giving the kids a piece of fruit and then going and hiding in the kitchen so I can eat biscuits without having to share them
– Having a movie day on the sofa instead of taking the kids to the park
– Letting Leo play on his tablet while I get on with housework
– Not taking Alex to soft play/swimming as much as I think I should
– Not having the time and energy to do as much with Alex as I did with Leo when he was a toddler
– Getting post natal depression
– Not loving playing imagination games with Leo and finding playtime in general a bit boring
– Leo refusing to try new foods
– Alex refusing to try new foods
– Only going to the baby groups I like instead of taking Alex to them all
– Leaving Alex nap for half hour longer than he should so I can get blogging work done or just have some chill time
– Not remembering how old Alex was when he got his first tooth
– Not having half as many pictures of Alex printed as we do of Leo
– Spending approximately £3 a week on myself so I can grab a coffee before I take Alex to rhyme time
– Picking a kids film that I can actually tolerate instead of watching the rubbish one Leo wants when we spend a Saturday morning watching a film together
– Feeling pissed off when the baby wakes up for hours in the night
– Feeling frustrated at Leo when he doesn’t do as he is told
– Not taking the boys off to do big expensive days out every weekend
– All of Alex’s clothes being hand me downs
– Arriving 5 minutes late to pick Leo up from school because I could’t find a parking space
– Alex having to use the pram we have had for almost five years that is only just clinging on to life
– Letting Leo watch YouTube on my phone when we are out and I need him to be quiet for 10 minutes
– Sometimes skipping pages in stories when I have to read them ten times in a row
– Saying no to Leo when he asks for the impossible
– Not always knowing what it is Alex wants or needs when he is crying
– Not making many school mum friends so I have no one to arrange play dates with for Leo
– Craving child free time sometimes
– Not having enough money to buy them all the toys they want

and most importantly

– wasting precious time with them feeling guilty instead of just living in the moment with them.

I told you it was a long list! I am trying my absolute best to stop feeling guilty about all of this stuff, a lot of which is really insignificant and unimportant, in the grand scheme of things. I love my boys and I know they love me too. They don’t love that perfect mum I’ve imagined, they don’t love SuperMum, they love ME. All these things I have been worrying about, my kids more than likely couldn’t give a crap about. My boys prefer me when I am happy, I prefer me when I am happy. I finally understand that if I am to be really happy as a parent, I need to turn the volume down on that negative voice in my head, take a look at my kids smiling faces and realise that, actually, I am doing a pretty amazing job. I am raising tiny humans, and I may not be perfect but I am their loving mum and, to them, that’s all they really need.

Do you suffer from a horrible inner voice and mum guilt? Do you feel guilty about any of the same things as me? Why don’t you try writing them all down, hopefully it will help you see that you need to stop beating yourself up and instead focus on all the amazing things you are doing every single day for your family.

If you enjoyed this post you might also like to read

Why we all need to be more Elsa – mama on a mission to become a more positive parent 

14 things you can do to become a happier and more positive mum 

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how to banish mum guilt once and for all - the list you need to write to take control of those negative thoughts

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The Grownup, Gillian Flynn – A book review

The Grownup, Gillian Flynn – A book review

Over the past couple of years Gillian Flynn has become my favourite author, ever. I love her writing style, the untrustworthy characters she creates and her ability to keep her readers guessing before shocking us all with plot twists that no one saw coming. When I picked up The Grownup in the bookshop and realised it was less than 70 pages long, I was slightly concerned Flynn was not going to be able to deliver her trademark dramatic twists and turns in so few words. How very wrong I was…

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The highs and lows from a year of blogging

It has been a whole year since I sat down with my tablet, on yet another lonely afternoon while Leo was sleeping away the hours, and set up this very blog. Little did I know back then where I would be in a years time. I had no idea that something that was just meant to fill the hour or two in the afternoon while Leo had his nap would become such a big part of my life.

From the moment I hit publish on my first ever post, I caught the blogging bug. I love having a place to document Leo’s little life and all the things we do as a family. My blog has been a great way for me to seek parenting advice as well as vent and offload when Leo has been going through yet another difficult phase or something has been getting me down

I have learnt so so much in my first year of blogging. There is a lot more to running a blog than just writing posts and I feel like I am learning new things all the time. Although my blog is now a whole year old, I still feel like a newbie sometimes. I may still feel like I am finding my feet in this busy area of the world wide web but I am enjoying being a blogger more than I could ever have imagined. 
To commemorate my virtual baby Naptime Natter’s first year in the blogosphere but to also show bloggers just starting out what it is really like in the early days, here are my highs and lows from one year of blogging..
The highs
People not only reading but also commenting on my posts. 
Finding a space to grow and nurture my love for writing.
Creating posts full of happy memories I can share with Leo when he is older.
Receiving supportive comments from lovely readers when I have been going through difficult times.
Having people comment on my posts saying they know exactly how I feel and thanking me for showing them they are not alone.
Never receiving a negative/hurtful comment on any of my posts (so far!).
I am passionate about women receiving honest advice and support about breastfeeding and my open letter to new breastfeeding mums has had lots of comments and is the most read post on my blog.
Bagging my first ever sponsored post in November and earning my first bit of cash from blogging.
Having a place to store all my family photos but also have the days out written up alongside them, never to be forgotten.
Interacting with lots of lovely bloggers on Twitter.
Discovering and reading lots of other blogs and finding out more about the wonderful people who write them.
Having lots of people agree with my opinions on breastfeeding in baby changing facilities. 
Developing basic HTML knowledge and other techy stuff I couldn’t do before.
Being given a reason to explore and try to improve my photography skills.
Having my content shared by others on Twitter/Facebook etc.
The lows (because nothing is perfect)
Having to blog using my phone/tablet for the first 6 months of blogging as I didn’t have a laptop.
My blogger account is missing some vital bit of code so I am unable to use shareaholic, add pinnable image code or feature recommended reading at the bottom of my posts (this is so frustrating).
Struggling with low page views in the early days.
Blogger envy – it’s a real thing.
Feeling like no one really ‘got me’ for a while.
Wondering why everyone else was getting sponsored posts and I wasn’t.
Very slow growth of Twitter followers.
Finding it difficult to find the time get everything done.
The never ending blog to do list.
PR companies contacting me and offering me work only to ignore me when I emailed them back.
Spending a long time on a post and it receiving no comments.
Seeing newer bloggers than me getting amazing stats/opportunities and wondering what I was doing wrong.
Having to take all my photos on my phone as my camera is broken.
Not being able to afford to go self hosted.
Being restricted by the many limitations of a blogger blog.
Feeling like I haven’t found my ‘tribe’ yet.
Reaching out for blogging help/advice on Twitter and no one replied.
Regretting my choice of blog name.

And some more highs (because you should always end on a positive note)
Being a featured blogger on pretty much all of the linkies I join in with.
Having brands approach me and offer me sponsored work.
Trespass asking me to review something for them.
Putting myself out there and asking brands if they want to collaborate.
Reaching over 1000 followers on Twitter.
Co hosting one of my favourite linkies with one of my favourite bloggers.
Receiving really positive feedback on my first ever vlog.
Writing monthly Leo updates for us to look back on as he grows.
Seeing the same people coming back and reading my new posts every week.
The moment I realised blogging is supposed to be fun and started paying less attention to my stats.
Nearly making my husband cry when he read this post about us moving away from Swansea (he’s a tough nut to crack as well!).
Feeling like I have finally found a hobby I love and might actually be good at.
Realising I am by no means the only parent out there who finds this whole raising a child thing difficult. For every shiny advert of a mum changing her baby’s nappy with ease there is a #pblogger writing about the time their baby ran off mid change, fell off the changing table or ate it’s own poo. 
The best thing about blogging is reading other parents real life stories and discovering you are not the only one who is winging it, not even close.

Plans for year 2…
* I would love to be able to find some spare cash and go self hosted, I am not sure how much longer I can keep dealing with all the problems Blogger keeps throwing at me.
* Continue to try and grow my Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest following.
* Keep reaching out to brands and hopefully get some more sponsored posts/reviews lined up.
* Rename my blog and have a bit of a blog rebrand/make over.
* If going self hosted is still not likely then invest in a Blogger theme.
* Start up a mailing list and create a weekly newsletter.
* Keep coming up with interesting content but don’t be afraid to write posts just for me as well.
* Vlog more often and try and grown my confidence as well as YouTube subscribers.
* Keep interacting and chatting to other bloggers.
* Grow some balls and go to a blogging conference.
Wow, this post turned out to be an epically long one! Well, it has been an eventful first year and I didn’t want to miss anything out. 
I just want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read, share and comment on my blog over this past year. It really means so much to me that people read my posts and seem to be interested in what I have to say. I really appreciate everything you readers do for me and if it weren’t for you reading my posts  I would just be a crazy person sat writing to myself, so thank you :).
Have you recently had a blog birthday too? How did you find your first year of blogging? Maybe you are new to this, how are you finding your blogging experience so far? I would love to know. 
This post is linked to..

My Random Musings

Cuddle Fairy

Diary of an Imperfect Mum: Family Fun Linky
A Cornish Mum

Pink Pear Bear

Reflections From Me

6 months in Hampshire

It has been a whole six months since we moved to Hampshire. That is half a year since we said goodbye to Swansea and headed across the border, walking away from our old life and towards something new and exciting.

If I am honest, I still don’t feel settled here. I miss my friends and miss my parents only being 90 minutes away up the road. I miss the beach and the toddler groups Leo and I used to go to. I even miss my bar maid job in the theatre and I never thought I would ever say that.

Life here is different to what we have been used to. Oli is working longer hours, his job is stressful and even when he is home his mind is often still in work. All things we were expecting when he got a job as a care home manager, but nothing can quite prepare you for how that added responsibility at work can impact on your family life. Living in a bungalow around the back of Oli’s work has often added to the feeling that he is never off call. Staff come tapping on the door all hours of the day and Oli disappears to sort out something at work, this happens on the weekends too. Once we are out of this house and in a place that actually feels like home I am hoping I might start to feel a bit more content here.

I also can’t get used to having no money I can call my own, my job in Swansea wasn’t amazing but at least I had one. Settling back in to being a full time stay at home Mum has been easy, although I often still crave those few child free evenings a week I used to spend at work. I did spend the first few months here applying for jobs but there are only so many rejection emails you can get before you need to take a break and scrape your self esteem back up off the floor.

I am finding it difficult to make friends too, this makes me feel miserable and a bit pathetic. There are a few mums I chat to at various toddler groups but they are more acquaintances than actual mates. Six whole months and not one person has suggested we go for coffee or take the kids to soft play or something. I am not going to get too upset about it, I do have lots of friends, they are just scattered all over the country and I don’t see them very often. I am sure I will meet some lovely people here, I just need put myself out there a bit more I guess.

It has not all been doom and gloom for the past half a year though. I have loved exploring our new area with Leo and Oli. We have been on lots of days out and made lots of fun memories exploring new and exciting places. Ignoring the lack of money, friends and general contentment, life in Hampshire isn’t so bad. With Spring and the promise of sunny weather just around the corner, who knows what we will be up to over the next half of our first year in Hampshire.

Here are some of the things we have been up to since we moved in September. These are the happy memories and the positives to living here I am going to force myself to remember everytime my heart pines for the life I loved so much in Swansea.

We have had lots of fun exploring all the local woods and forests..

We have enjoyed several Welly Walks around the beautiful New Forest

Family have come to stay and we always take them on the train for a browse around the impressive shopping centre in Southampton..

We have been on adventures to exciting castles in Basingstoke and Titchfield

There was that lovely walk we went on along Basingstoke canal..
We found our new favourite place when we spent the day at Bournemouth beach..
We have been able to spend time with and get to know family we rarely got to see when we lived in Wales..
And, of course, we have spent lots of lazy days being silly, playing games, watching films and cuddling in this funny old building we now call home..
We may be living in England now, but we will always be Welsh..
Have you recently moved? Are you also struggling to feel at home in your new town? I look forward to discovering what the next six months hold and hopefully as the months go by I will start to feel happier and more at home here.

This post is linked to..

My Random Musings

Cuddle Fairy

Diary of an Imperfect Mum: Family Fun Linky
A Cornish Mum

Pink Pear Bear

Reflections From Me

Vlogging with my toddler – 2 years 7 months update

It is time for another Leo update. I don’t know how these months keep passing by so quickly. Time really needs to slow down a bit otherwise Leo will be off at university and I will be an old lady before I know it!

A few weeks ago I decided to start vlogging and so far I have only published one video. I thought it would make a nice change to do Leo’s monthly update in vlog form, featuring the boy himself and it gives me a good excuse to up my vlogging game,

I love writing my monthly Leo updates as it is a way of recording and remembering everything we have been up to and sharing any milestones he has reached during the month. Although writing everything down is a good way to cherish the memories, words can never truly capture what someone is really like. Video is the perfect way to make sure I never forget the sound of Leo’s cute little voice or his high pitched giggle, his little facial expressions and mannerisms are all there for me to see and look back on. When he is a grumpy teenager I can show him these videos, he will be embarrassed probably but they will show that he was a little cutie (once upon a time!). 

Vlogging with Leo was fun and he really enjoyed showing off for the camera. I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to sit and chat without any distractions though. I found it very hard to concentrate by the end!
So here is Leo’s 2 year and 7 month update and his YouTube debut. I hope you enjoy watching.

Do you like to keep regular updates on your little ones development? How do you think Leo did on his first ever vlog? He got a bit bored by the end but I think he enjoyed being in front of the camera, he has definitely inherited his Daddy’s confidence.

This post is linked to..

A Cornish Mum

Cuddle Fairy

Mummuddlingthrough

Diary of an Imperfect Mum: Family Fun Linky

Pink Pear Bear

Reflections From Me

Leo update – 2 years 6 months

Today my baby boy turns 2 and a half. I know I probably say this every month but, seriously, where is the time going? Before I know it he will be starting school, learning to drive, moving out and all the little things that happen in between. As Leo is now 30 months I thought I would do this months update a little differently. Being a half birthday after all, I have decided to list 30 facts for 30 months, to make this monthly update a little more special. I am going to note down all of Leo’s little ways as, despite the tantrums, this is such a fun and lovely age and I don’t want to forget a second of it.



Happy half birthday Leo, in another six months you’ll be three – ahh! This is what you are like now you are 2 and a half..

30 facts for 30 months..
1. You are obsessed with Room on the broom.
2, If I let you, you would watch Thomas the Tank all day.
3. Every morning you have to have Weetabix or Chocolate Hoops for breakfast, otherwise there are tears.
4. Your minion wellies are your favourite shoes.
5. You love to sing Old Mcdonald had a Farm in a funny, deep voice.
6. Biscuits are your favourite thing ever.
7. Puddles make you happy.
8. Every night I have to read you 3 stories before you will settle down to sleep. You always ask for more.
9. The swings at the park terrify you, but you love the slide.
10. When you want me to take a photo of us both you ask can we ‘go in the phone’.
11. You call squash ‘purple’ and refuse to drink plain water.
12. You can be nasty to Jessy the kitten sometimes.
13. When I get you dressed you insist on every item of clothing being put on your feet first – lots of your T-shirts are stretched.
14. When you cuddle me you make really cute little ‘aww’ sounds.
15. If I try to get you out of the bath you splash around shouting ‘I swimming!’.
16. You don’t actually like it when we go swimming.
17. You prefer to take your toys apart than actually play with them.
18. Daddy has invented so many silly games with you, there are too many to list but you love them all.
19. You call colouring in ‘cull-a-lin’. It’s very cute.
20. Play Doh is your favourite crafty thing to do.
21. Whenever you give me a kiss you always say ‘kiss’ first – again, very cute.
22. You have horrible tantrums sometimes that make me want to cry,
23. I have to drive/push you around in the pram for at least 20 minutes every single day for you to go for a nap.
24. You talk about your winky too much!
25. You talk about your family a lot, I think you miss then since we’ve moved.
26. Exploring the woods or the beach is when you are happiest.
27. You are a chocoholic, you get that from me.
28. People are starting to say you look more like me, since you were tiny you have always been a mini version of Daddy,.
29. Raw carrots are one of your favourite foods but you won’t touch them if they are cooked or mashed.
30. You are the most adorable, amazing, perfect little boy and me and Daddy love you loads.
Photos of Leo at 2 years 6 months..
My not so baby boy is growing and changing so much, I just love watching his little personality shine. Do you like to keep monthly updates of your little ones? Has your child reached any milestones this month or explored somewhere new? I would love to know 🙂


This post is linked to..

MaternityMondays

A parenting epiphany while feeding the ducks

Leo and  I had a lovely morning on Monday. Instead of wasting the morning away just pottering around in the house, I decided it would be nice for us to go feed the ducks at the local lake. It was during our trip to the lake that I had an epiphany, but I’ll tell you more about that later..

Going to feed the ducks without Oli is a big deal for me. If you don’t know this about me already, I am terrified of birds. Not cute little duckys but birds that fly around in big groups squawking, flapping and just being generally terrifying. I am not sure what the phobia is called but whatever it is, I totally have it. 
At least Leo hasn’t inherited my bird phobia!
Anyway, we got to the lake, Leo ate most of the bread fed the ducks, a swarm of gulls arrived and I chucked the last of the bread in the bin. The binning of the bread was the result of actual fear that the birds would come swooping down, steal the bread and maybe peck us to death in the process. 
As you can probably guess, the Spiderman shoes are now ruined!
Following the traumatic duck feeding experience, Leo and I had a wonder through the woods, chucked sticks in the lake and squelched around in bogs (I forgot Leo’s wellies I might add, disaster!). It was while Leo was ‘walking the plank’ along a fallen tree that I had my epiphany. The realisation was so strong I almost forgot to support my 2 year old on his journey across ‘the plank’.
Walking the plank..
My epiphany was this..
I don’t do this enough. I have stopped enjoying time outside, just me and Leo.

When we lived in Swansea, I used to take Leo out all the time. We would go to the beach, explore local woods and run through the grass in all the different parks. We don’t do that any more. On the weekends we do stuff as a family but since moving to Hampshire, Leo and I are spending much less time in the great outdoors. 
This is partly because I just don’t know what to do here. There are beaches close by (ish) but not right on our doorstep like before. I hate driving alone on the motorway and it feels like you can’t go anywhere in the South without being forced down a slip road and onto the m27. 
He doesn’t ever walk, he runs.
As soon as I realised this I felt so guilty. Leo must miss it too. All that outdoor space, the freedom, the happier Mum? Whenever we go out now it is only really to baby groups or soft play. I am not my best when we are at these places. I am on edge, worried Leo is going to have a tantrum, stressing that some bigger kids are going to push him over, trying to stay calm while solving some kind of toddler conflict. It is different when we are outside, just exploring and running around. I feel so much more relaxed just walking around amongst the trees, watching my boy running around and just spending some stress free time together. 
Throwing sticks in water, best game ever?
Now I have realised we are no longer making the most of the amazing world around us, I am going to start getting out more and I am going to try and find more places for Leo and I to explore. Instead of pining for the adventures we used to have in Swansea, I am going to start discovering new fun things for us to do here in Hampshire. If that means a scary trip down the always busy motorway on my own, then so be it. Just look at Leo’s little face, so full of wonder and curiosity. My boy loves to explore the great outdoors and who am I to deny him that?
He reminds me of a bird here. A cute one though, not a scary horrible one.
Do you spend much one and one time exploring the great outdoors with your little one? Or do you keep the exploring for when you have your other half there too? What about the bird fear thing, does anyone else out there have that too or is it just me?
                                                  
                                                         WHATEVER THE WEATHER LIFE UNEXPECTED
Cuddle Fairy

Wayfair #BlogItForward – Random acts of kindness

#blogitforward
Last month you may have seen lots of people blogging about #BlogItForward. Blog it forward is a challenge set by Wayfair where us bloggers write about our good deeds and in return Wayfair donate £50 to Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for humanity is a great cause, it is a charity that helps the poorest of people build their own homes, giving them somewhere they to live and be safe.
I thought the #BlogItForward challenge ended in December and that I had missed my chance to join in but a little email popped up in my inbox this week asking me if I wanted to get involved. I obviously responded saying yes and today I have been trying to give back, be a bit kinder and smile a little brighter at strangers who passed me by. A small act of kindness can mean so much and today has made me want to give back even more, whenever I can. The #BlogItForward challenge finishes on 31st January so there it still time people, every post featuring the badge gets a £50 donation from Wayfair for Habitat for Humanity, how amazing is that?
So, this is what I have been doing today to make others smile…
1. Bake something…
Oli is the manager of a residential care home for the elderly. Many of the residents there have dementia and life can sometimes be difficult and confusing for them. I know a biscuit can’t make their health problems go away but a little sweet treat will hopefully make them happy, even if only for a little while. I made enough for the staff as well. being a carer is a very demanding, difficult and sometimes unappreciated job, everyone does a fantastic job and they have to put up with Oli as a boss so, well, they definitely deserve a treat for that too.

2. Help a stranger…
On my way around Asda today, while I was buying ingredients for my biscuits I chucked an extra pack of baby wipes in to the trolley. On our way out I popped them into the baby change, just in case some one needs them. I really appreciate when shops/cafes put baby wipes or nappies in their baby change rooms but, unfortunately, not many places do. On the weekend Oli ended up having to clean Leo up using toilet paper (harder than it sounds) because we ran out of wipes. Hopefully, these will be found by a Mum who needs them, there’s nothing worse that having a baby with a dirty nappy and you realise you have left the wipes at home. 
3. Be kind..
According to my lovely husband, I suffer from what is commonly known as resting Bitch face. I thought I was quite a smiley person but apparently I always look grumpy! Today I have been making more of an effort to smile at passers by, shop assistants and people who have let me pull out while I have been out in the car. Earlier, while taking Leo out for his nap in the pram I crossed the road so another lady and her pram didn’t have to worry about getting stuck trying to get past me, we both had pretty massive prams. Simple little things that I hope made someone feel happy or made their day a little bit easier. I always try to be kind to others, even strangers, but there is always more we could all be doing.
My #BlogItForward nominees are..
Chloe from lifeunexpected
and 
Franca from amomentwithfranca 
Come on girls, it is time to give back, share with us your random acts of kindness and Wayfair will make their donations to Habitats for Humanity. Don’t forget to include the badge and nominate #BlogItForward challenge to two (or more if you want!) other bloggers.
Being kind is easy, we should all do it every single day.
#blogitforward
<a href=”http://www.wayfair.co.uk/v/blog-it-forward-challenge”><img src=”https://secure.img1.wfrcdn.com/st4/stores/common/blog_it_forward/bif_badge_600x220.png” width=”600″ height=”220″ alt=”#blogitforward”/></a>

The house that was our home

The house that was our home

Last month I took a break from my blog to focus all my time and energy on moving house. Well not only moving house but on completely relocating across the boarder and moving down to the South of England.

Home sweet home.
When we first decided on the move I knew it was going to be difficult to leave the home and life we had built in Swansea behind but I never realised quite how emotional the whole process would be. I understood that I was going to have to say goodbye to people and places I loved, to the city where Oli and I got married and where Leo was born. However, none of these things were as difficult as closing all the doors of our little semi detached house for the final time and posting the keys through the letter box.
To anyone else it was just a building but to me it was much more than just a load of bricks.

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